From Shopping in the nude and the art of the naked protest to cycling in buff the Byron Shire has a long history of nudetastic events. Soon the Shire may be adding the Nude Olympics.
Previously held in Noosa, Alexandria Bay, the naked sports day has previously attracted large crowds of around 600 people. ‘It is all a bit of fun,’ said Stuart Whelan, public relations officer of the Australian Naturist Federation (ANF). ‘It’s more like what you’d find at a Sunday school picnic. There’s tug of war, an egg and spoon race and three legged races.’
Alexandria Bay has hosted naked events and bathing for over 60 years and the Nude Olympics has previously been promoted on the local council’s website. However, Queensland state government laws do not allow for legal nude beaches and an increase in police issuing fines in the area for wilful exposure lead to a decrease in numbers for the event last year. ‘Previously we had support from the local life saving club but they have said they can no longer participate as they can’t be seen to support an illegal activity,’ said Whelan.
This years event, planned for March, is now unlikely to take place leaving many people from South Australia and Victoria disappointed as they have planned their holidays around it each year.
‘Since the crackdown over the last 12 months in Alexandria Bay lots of people from Brisbane who used to go north have started to head to Byron Bay,’ commented Whelan. ‘One response could be similar to the NSW solution where local councils have the right to designate local beaches for nude bathing.’
If a solution can’t be found to facilitate the event taking place in Noosa then it is likely the event will be cancelled this year and they will have to move it.
‘We want to do it properly with all the necessary processes,’ said Whelan. ‘This past weekend we had an event at Samurai beach above Newcastle (NSW) with 500 people. We made sure we had all the approvals from National Parks and Wildlife etc.’
The Echo will continue to keep abreast of developments and inform its audience about this titillating and ballsy event that might be heading your way.
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